Picking Back Up
by Mirae-no-sekai
Summary: Some beginnings after the Mark of Mastery, minor hijinks and some showing off. Takes place after 3D but before KH3 decides to happen. Hope you enjoy


_A.N. – just another random idea that I had for a long, long time._

_First of all, this one is after 3D… but before whatever happens in KH3 properly happens. Or happens at all, who knows when that picks up. So it's only some crazy friendship-and-training time instead of a huge theory for whatever will come._

_It also doesn't feature any romance, but it does have something that feels like a fight. And random PoV's… I think I should warn for that, case it gets confusing, hehe._

_As always, I don't claim any of the characters as mine (they belong to Square-Enix and/or Disney when called for), deviations from usual characterization a.k.a OoC might just be possible (and I hope you aren't too miffed with me if it happens, tried my best to avoid it) and I hope you enjoy reading this!_

_Enough chit-chat, let's go!_

* * *

They have another home-coming, both sooner and later than originally thought. Also less involving a crash in the sea- while picturesque, it was a seriously not optimal option. Too cold, left all their clothing sopping wet and weirdest of all, Sora and Riku had ended up with a mild cold for a couple of days after that.

But this home-coming is different. For one, it's staggered.

One day, Riku arrives. Rushes, a lot of confused and trailed by overly eager friends, around the beaches and into town. Tidus and Wakka kept asking just what had happened now; where had he gone to anyways and if wherever it was had blitzball too. Selphie had giggled a lot and actually answered when he asked for Kairi's whereabouts.

After a dash for the (wrong) pier, a dash back and setting a record for speed between the islands on a small wooden boat. Tiny really, and Riku was acutely aware that they'd gotten too small and that he should've picked a bigger one at any rate, if he wanted to carry Kairi across.

She was perched atop the rickety shack that overlooked the bridge to the paopu palm. Feet dangling down from the edge, slick with perspiration and hair pinned back by a hairband on the verge of coming loose. At her side was one of the toy swords, and an extra pair of the typical beach sandals worn by young people anywhere on the islands.

Vaguely, Riku remembers Selphie being barefooted and complaining in between long speeches about the odd ends of concrete. And he halfway chides Kairi for practicing with a lighter object, or for taking a rest in such a vulnerable position, or for being in full blast of the sun. Seriously- the only person who had less resistance to sunburn was Riku himself, and he can blame the darkness for that when he doesn't feel like bringing his unusual pallor to focus (which unsurprisingly is nearly always).

He doesn't really chide her because within the minute he arrives at her perch, Kairi has stood up, spun around and scanned him completely.

Then comes the smiling 'hello', the hands clasping safe behind her back (but not before Riku saw the star-shaped charm she made from sea-shells), the brisk steps to his side.

"Finished the test early?"

"Actually…"

He doesn't exactly try to pass the late finish as a joke. Riku seriously doubts that's possible, amounts of sarcasm notwithstanding. And because he came close to breaking down at round about An-_Xehanort's_ Heartless, he can nearly see him all smirks behind Kairi and not her too you won't-

He shoves a bit of a laugh in at the end anyways. Because Sora in party gear was funny, same as him getting chased around by an enchanted broom displeased with the fact that he had tried to sneak some pastries out. Or the same brooms sweeping and generally forcing Lea up a tree.

The laugh isn't forced at the last one. Riku had heckled the brooms on actually, pointing up at the tree and eventually telling them that y'know, water buckets are useful for range. And finding out that yes, physics didn't exactly _affect_ that hair either.

"Worse than Sora's, I swear."

Kairi rolls her eyes. She's seen worse- and tried to tame it for a while already. Riku has seen the results and teased Sora appropriately- but for real, Lea's was on another scale. You'd think it would lose some color with water and stain the leather long coat he still wears a striking red.

He's run off from what he meant to say, and maybe when everyone teased that Sora had rubbed off a lot on him they had a point. And they didn't mean it in the lazy bum way- thankfully, or else Riku had enough biting remarks for every single err… for everyone in the room save Yen Sid. And him _only_ because if he was setting the pass, Riku better not annoy him. Much less when he's trying to get Sora the nigh expected Master title. Light knows, it should be his too by this point. And he got waylaid by twelve bastards, even Riku would've had a hard time there- in a different way, but it would've been no walk in a park.

And there he went again. Kairi shoots him a leveling glance, seeking reassurance- or maybe lightly teasing, in the usual way that means a light smack in the head in the close future.

When he says it, Riku does think that Sora got it easy. The King got it easy, Yen Sid easiest of all, because-

"Guess I will get some good practice then."

Well, maybe they _do_ have it worse than it seems.

* * *

They have to sneak Kairi out of the Islands. Partly because inter-world travel is bizarre and doesn't usually have a clear route anywhere- and for the record, they both are counting the dark portals for this. Partly because Sora and Riku's adventures have become infamous among half the islanders and making off with the mayor's dearly beloved daughter sounds dumb even when said mentally. Or when she has some skill for this, beating Riku to the first rendezvous point and pulling out some light teasing for this. But hey, he never actually_ trained_ for this- he supposes that comes later.

They don't entirely succeed of course. Half the youngsters- okay, more like Selphie, Tidus and Wakka plus a couple others snoozing on the docks- are out on the beach despite the late hour. A party, with bonfire and cold paopu juice and the only ratty loudspeakers that can fit on a boat sitting on a spread towel. Dancing and Riku getting invited to join, because he's here and he's back and _dude, you really have to try this new brand._ And the dancing, and the fact that it's finally summer and they don't have to worry about catching up with school for a while. Dodging them is no big issue after a while. Riku does it unconsciously, picking up a bottle and trying out just one of Selphie's weird spins as masculine as he possibly can. Kairi sits for a second, or maybe a paragraph and another, between both boys and pokes at one of the sleeping guys with a smile. And a pen, and the cold rim of her drink between quips with the other guys awake.

It's damn _familiar_. And the guy has criminally straight hair, not sticking out randomly, and Kairi isn't giggling- she'd wake him up, and this time it isn't the idea. All the old crews are here, smiling sweet and laughing and passing paopu juice around like it's going to run dry in the near future.

Considering how much they're drinking, Riku thinks that might just happen. And the next things to go will be melon and chips, if the rinds ringing the campsite and the bags pinned under heels and beach balls are any indicators.

But he does end up swilling from a bottle and complaining that the numbskulls couldn't even keep the juice cold, and that's why he isn't fully enjoying it. But it's nice guys, and really from whom did you filch it. He ends up cracking up at one of Selphie's lame jokes and her catchphrase always on the verge of catching on- Riku has to drag her to Lea somehow- and comes this so-very-close to retelling a minor epic.

Only the ones that he can think of are too _freaking _dark. And he triumphs- of course- but it doesn't mean he's good. It just means some-one-thing died, whether it was a dragon, a spawn of the dark, an almost-person or…

He downs whatever is left in the bottle. Quite a lot actually- Tidus's jaw might've just hit the floor; Wakka gave him one of those hearty slaps in the back that just mean awesome and Kairi lets loose with a giggle. A proper one, like she's about to tease and just doesn't do so because hey, that slap hurt and a bruised back and pride are enough. Because she's heard most of the stories, been there for a couple in some form and she knows that Riku won't tell them everything that went down.

She does egg him on a couple of times, pulling him into minor interrogations by the boys- no, I told you already no blitzball, but yeah, there was a train in… Kairi help me here- "Twilight Town"- yeah, thanks, never figured wherever it went… and dude, if you're asking for pretty girls go look for them yourself! Selphie, I swear, you hit me with that rope a- I didn't mean it that way, I'm sore- oh you guys…

And on and on. The sky didn't start out fully black- it started bloody rose, darkening with dusk and clouds off on the horizon. There would be a storm soon, a monsoon if either of them were to harass a guess, and Kairi makes light of the situation saying that at least they won't travel by boat. And even if they were, she knows they'd get picked up before the edges made landfall or picked up too much strength. Now, the sky is a deep black, unmarred by stars or moonlight. Riku finds it inherently ominous, but doesn't act on it- he saw the clouds before. It isn't darkness drawing near, it's only a soaking storm and he doesn't want to arrive sopping wet back at the Tower. It isn't darkness, no matter what he thinks and-

"There."

That's Kairi, craning her neck upwards and pulling on his hand, pointing up.

A single star. So freaking small, a pale white-blue and veiled by thick clouds. The scent of sea and sand and he still smells paopu juice even when they've made their excuses and dashed away, scouting the whole shore for the exit.

Of course, they end up on the Secret Spot. And Riku knocks his head on the low ceiling- Kairi barely clears it, ducking only a little, but she doesn't know the floor layout half as good as he does. Or Sora does- the other boy could almost tell if someone had been in there due to shifting stones. And the chalk drawings.

They're all pretty awful, Riku laughs. And random- there's a huge bird in one of the flat surfaces, and a grand castle sweeping elsewhere with three non-descript figures prancing in front of what seems to be the entrance. A bit prophetic too, if half of the things are taken as more than childish imagination- the castle looks like Disney Castle. A couple of the figures are eerily familiar as non-islanders.

But he still laughs. The place hasn't changed. If he were to look for it, he'd probably still find the paler surface where Sora and he would play tic-tac-toe endlessly on rainy days. Or the nook Kairi had scrawled into a garden full of flowers that don't match the play islands- now Riku knows they're Hollow Bastion's, but it still was a funny detail. Her own corner in the boy's club, and defended zealously- mostly because she had been the genius with the whole 'bringing some chalk' deal. And she had a couple mean kicks and the shrillest shrieks ever, if she wanted to use that.

Then there is the door. There's a hum of magic to it, and it isn't pleasing. Not that it hurts him or anything but… yeah. Not exactly comforting. And to think they played here and drew sweet caricatures and burned time just in front. A younger Riku banging desperately at the door, because someone would just have to go answer, and him leading Sora into an adventure. Or maybe it was Sora leading him- because kid could make a door into an object of fantasy and even rush off to fight with it.

Eh, served him well in the long run. He'll have to try making a joke of that later.

Kairi is already up by the door, trailing a hand down the polished wood. It's smoother than it should be, at the mercy of the sea and elements of weather. Or the dampness of a cave a stone's throw away from the shore and less than that from a clear stream. The metal on it is a glowing gold, mysteriously warm to the touch.

She smiles- it's a bit wistful and a bit eager, like she can't wait to be out of here. That was Riku, dammit, all the way before. Now it's Kairi, palm flat against the wood and eyes fixed on the simple keyhole in the middle. By now, they know better than to summon their keyblades and unlock the door.

It clicks open anyways, although this time it doesn't bring doom from the other side. And maybe it wasn't the door at all, and just some light magic surging forth to guide their way, pooling under their feet and seeping up into the low ceiling. Faint chimes- a spell at work and the scent of beach and salt slowly rushes out into sterile light. The colors all flicker-fade to white, dawn-tinted outlines remaining for breaths around them.

Then the high arch of a portal, gold and warm gapes open with a yawp. From beyond…

* * *

"You see anything?"

Lea asks just because- he's off training for the moment. Mostly to eat, drain some bottles of water or follow along with biology. And to gaze at the sunset- it looks wrong without the city skyline hulking at the bottom instead of sloping hills and some woods. A beach- he had promised someone(s) to go there one day and lick at ice-creams until they went silly. Play in the waves- Lea even had planned how to tackle them into the water, because beach water is usually really cold and that would've been a fun harmless prank.

He can't remember who exactly he'd promised that to, but hey. He'll figure it out, along with the whole keyblade deal. They have some logic to them- and sorry, but there is simply no way Lea is sitting down to read every single book the old mage has. He'll let the scientists back at Radiant Garden do that and just pester them a bit for the answers.

For now, he looks out of the window. The one shaped like a star- they all have nonsense shapes, but Lea likes the star one best. A moon-shaped one brings back memories he'd rather not see-

Oh. That is interesting. There's a flare down below, far on the ground and Lea's glad he didn't loko at it directly.

"Hey, Yen Sid."

He wasn't exactly formal before, during or after the whole Axel thing. He might've even become more irreverent, if that's even possible.

Somewhere inside his heart, a blue-haired boy rolls his eyes and laughs at that. _No it isn't- you don't remember half your exploits, but you were and are an irreverent young man. Cheers_. All 'said' with sarcasm that reeks of friendship and another variation of sea-salt.

Two younger guys somewhat echo the sentiment, cracking unheard jokes and trying to temper the bare sarcasm from the first boy. The blond one Lea recognizes- not sure if he can name, but it's him. The other he doesn't even _know_ save from a pang in the heart and a headache. And an annoyed pointing at the bright light spot which he can't look at.

He doesn't do it- not even for the friendly hallucinations caused by too much training, too little ice-cream and sudden bursts of radiance messing with his well-earned sunset.

He does it when Yen Sid orders him- not really sternly, but it's an order nonetheless- to pick up Riku and-

_Crap._

Maybe he should've paid attention to the friendly hallucinations. And he can clearly see, in that single split second, how the blue-haired boy drawls out some story about Lea rushing in unprepared before laughing with the other two.

Now, Riku knows Kairi knows. It's Lea, he says, but omitting the X doesn't exactly fix much. And the fact that Lea is still wearing the cloak, even when the three fairies gave him the option to change into something else, is peeving.

But Kairi knows more than let on- she knows that he kidnapped her, sure. And he doesn't know if Riku fully knows everything or just the I-have-your-pretty-girl, evil laughter thing.

He defended her- okay, for a moment or so, and because there had been someone more dangerous on the loose in the Dark Realm. He kept her knowing about Sora's whereabouts and state; he filched the keys for Naminé. The whole chain of events before she caught up with Sora- and a lot about before Sora woke up and she remembered him.

Kairi still glares at him. Keeps glaring at him even when Riku mumbles something in his defense about helping him rescue Sora- "again, because you wouldn't know how much rescuing a hero needs". It softens a bit after that, and loses most of the edge when they're at the top of the tower.

"Haven't found them yet, have you?"

It sounds like a statement, even if Kairi shifts her tone into a question at the end. Maybe because there's still some resentment there- for all she knows up to the moment, the non-existent ones have tried to harm Sora again, and she's been left again on the sidelines. She doesn't say it in so many words, just voice tilting soft at the end and a nervous bounce on her heels.

* * *

Riku figures that would've hurt. At least, in the heat of the action, you get a hand on the changes. He got to extinguish darkness, to fall, to re-ascend and to be greeted by a sweet girl in his home world's shores. She got to tend their wounds once all began to settle and to have both of them leaning on her shoulders when they felt that yeah, maybe keeping up strength for so long is tiring.

(Neither of them says hurtful, because it's Kairi. The princess isn't supposed to know the most visceral phases of the heroes' pain)

Lea doesn't nod- apparently, he just doesn't have a weak side, or so he acts. He broke down for a second in the white room against Saïx, not lifting a weapon and darting away. He doesn't have a weak side- he has, and just shows it when said weak side runs up with a claymore aimed at any vital organ.

Kairi stretches out a hand. A smile too- because it's her, and if she isn't even faintly smiling then it means that they're either in serious trouble or that the darkness is about to swallow them whole again and that she isn't going to be left alone again.

"I'll help. Sort of have practice with this."

"You, princess", Lea bows slightly, with a bit of sarcasm and a laugh, "have been the rescued party. 'Sort of' sums it up quite nicely."

He takes her hand- he meant it jokingly, true as it is. Besides, they don't exactly have alliances to spare- better to work together as soon as possible.

"But I'll be_ pleased_ to have you on."

She smiles the mischief smile that used to mean a minor prank, or sending both her boys in chores to prove something- strength, or speed or who could put up with some decidedly girly antics for the longest. Maybe Lea catches that meaning too, since he does hurry up- just a bit, he's renowned for stereotyped 'coolness'- and gambols through the doors to Yen Sid's study.

* * *

Riku didn't exactly forget to tell Kairi he was a Master now- maybe he mumbled it to the juice bottle, maybe he just thought it up.

She reacts in a way similar to Sora, amusingly enough. All bright smiles, a soft hug and laughter. "Finally got your happy ending", she says, and amends it fast enough with a knowing smile. A finger crooked in front of her lips, and for a moment she looks eerily like Naminé colored in.

To be fair, Lea does more of a double take than Riku does, and if Yen Sid does one properly no-one sees it. Apparently, all the strong shows of surprise were done when Lea pulled out his keyblade.

Or when Kairi pulled out hers. It's flowery- to a guffaw from Lea swiftly silenced by three pairs of eyes and a swing made at the air. Kairi does point out that she's taken out some heartless with it- only about three or so shadows, Riku knows. He doesn't call her on the bluff though- he wouldn't believe that her blade is efficient just by looks. And even if he saw her and even handed her the thing, Riku doesn't fully believe Kairi took down (_three shadows_) some heartless with it.

At least, he really got around to telling her about her going through proper training now. It isn't exactly the grand adventures he and Sora had- thank the Light, because now that he knows what Xehanort is up to leaving the less trained to that sounds suicidal. But it is something- there are worlds she can travel to, times where she'll meet up with faces Sora might've told her about. Times where she'll get to whack Lea upside the head with her flowery blade- because, as Yen Sid said, sparring with a friend is also good practice. Better if they have similar skills, but not to worry, you'll get some time with Sora too.

Riku can almost see the old man winking. And he's in almost charge of them- or so the whole Master spiel goes- so he doesn't exactly get lengthy sparring moments with either of them. There are some, but most of it goes to learning secrets and a couple advanced techniques.

He didn't know keyblades could do that, but Riku isn't arguing. Useful, and quite a showy thing as well.

That said, he never did get any sort of driver's license.

* * *

Training here is exhausting. Beautiful, but exhausting- Kairi's arms hang limp at her sides and one of her hands still clutches at the hilt. Her fingers might've just stuck in that position- but at least, she hasn't drained a well's worth of water like Lea did.

Lea- not Axel, she's strict about this. They're different and this she knows perfectly. She's seen it in Sora's eyes; she once spoke with a boy whose voice carried over in the sunset shores. And she knows his name, but she doesn't use it much. Something about keeping morale up for a moment longer- if he brings himself around to speaking of old experiences, Kairi reciprocates.

They've shared enough- how she knows how to sail a jetty. He knows how to manually unlock- a skill acquired after finding the clock tower's topmost level locked off by a gate he (then they, because they usually didn't get the idea of keyblades) didn't dare jump over too many times. Kairi's knack with various knots- she's shown off enough with the sea-shell charms, but she has more tricks than those. Came because of island living she says. And Lea has his own brand of parkour, which riled the guards in Radiant Garden. Hollow Bastion.

"They can't decide on a name, can they?"

"Radiant Bastion. Hollow Garden."

"Nope princess. First sounds like fairytales- which despite appearances is grossly mistaken- and the second will earn you a stern talk with Aerith."

As if to prove a point, they crashed in a flowerbed thick with foliage and flowers the size of their palms. On the opposite side of… some castle gates. Most of the administrative buildings are castles- Lea knows this because he is from here, Kairi knows so instinctively. It's amusing enough to see her dart and duck around naturally, even if she has speed nowhere near Lea's. But he's an escape artist, so he has that going for him.

And he also still doesn't get along with the guards. Kairi has to use her patented sweet-girl charm to get them to lay Lea off for at least long enough to escape (hard when one of them has lances and Leon is coming up on patrol some meters ahead). It takes some time to work, which doesn't surprise her much anymore… although there is something just vaguely-

"Ha! I'm off!"

Kairi smiles and takes off once the victory cheers morphs to some slick lines about _just strolling through Leon, I so swear and nothing to see here…_

She doesn't hesitate to run off to help him out of that, even if the thing is mostly under control already.

* * *

Like Lea would try another stunt on Hollow Bastion, is what Riku is trying to reassure himself of. _Third time's the charm_, he's said, and Riku isn't sure of which stunts he's counting.

He's heard enough misadventures to last him through some years of blackmail if he ever wanted to pull that on Lea. Or was willing to trade some of his own embarrassments back into silence- a couple of things during the Mark of Mastery stand out. Sora throwing another impromptu party to wish him luck on a first assignment, even if Sora himself had no idea in what it consisted. The result of some sparring matches between them, and to be fair Riku had never touched a Frisbee on Destiny Islands and those tricks were clearly unfair and physics-defying.

Riku still puts a palm to his face, because another run-in with Leon isn't anywhere near the grueling job he imagined being a Master would be. Or glamorous.

As Lea says, at least it isn't boring. And he gets to check on his favorite trainees while he's at it.

"I'm not seeing Sora or Kairi anywhere near here."

"Hey!"

* * *

So, maybe Isa got something from the massive body surfing. Or all the sunny boys have one damningly ironic best friend slash brother.

It would figure. Same as the whole darkness thing and Lea really does wonder if he were to go through the whole soul-searching experience; if he got through the training and got out, if he did pull off one of his personal Dark Rescues…

_Nah._ He's sure of it- he'll get his friends back. He promised.

* * *

Kairi's promised much the same thing too. More like in reverse, but the spirit is still the same. To stay together, whatever fate is thrown at them.

Only thing is, she's short some charms. And returning quick to Destiny Islands doesn't seem to be an option for the moment, even if Yen Sid only wishes for them to be wielders and not Masters. Kairi wants a free pass to the universe, if it means she can finally see more of her friends. More than the tired looks or the weary smiles after they drop like stones over the paopu tree. More than a couple scars that no matter how much sun they get on them don't tan, still hurt and them slinging jokes around to keep her from worrying so much. More than the slight paranoia when they see her still cast messages in bottles off in the ocean, or when they both grab her up in a hug.

The last one is more of a Sora thing, the slight embraces. Heart, body and soul crammed into the motion, like he's trying to assure himself of something. Or trying to reassure her, because Kairi is certain that she can't keep them in their tropical islands anymore and of course, Sora worries about people. It's part of him, the whole helping hand issue, and trying to make smiles bloom.

Riku goes for something a bit more distant, laughing with some melancholy and then pulling them both in. A joke to Sora that he just wishes he could do this or that seriously, you should go and do something about it already. He leaves whatever _'it'_ is vague, to hear Sora squawk a bit and Kairi turn away to catch her breath from giggling. And she, she sees through-

There's some self-judgment there, too many regrets and…

There's the fact that Kairi is certain that neither of them sees _exactly_ a red-haired girl. That her new interest in the arts throws back to something she's woefully ignorant of, that when she sparred with them in the play island's beach it wasn't exactly…

So even when Yen Sid seeks to make proficient users of the keyblades, regardless of actual rank, Kairi does go (along with Lea- he'll have to get a charm too) for as close to mastery as possible within their time limits.

* * *

They have sparred between them more times than they've counted already. Won, lost, used underhanded tricks, swore, switched weapons and took it seriously in a decidedly not-so-serious way. They wrote it down as merely being informal about it, or practicing other techniques, or newer drills, or anything that they can't really go show Yen Sid.

The first_ formal_ sparring session, Riku decides to let them go two-against-one.

He's always done the teamwork thing for victories, with Sora by his side and at his back (because the guy could never stay still, thank the Light). Hell, Sora goes most of the time three-on-one, and he's been well-cared for.

So he faces off two red-heads, taking the whole thing seriously. Maybe it's because, for 'realism', he's picked up the old black cloak he still has. It's speckled with dust, and half of the dangling chains near the zipper are missing, and it falls miserably short of his wrists and ankles now. It still makes Kairi narrow her eyes; makes Lea flicker randomly back to his chakrams for a moment before-

"Keyblades, Lea, that's what we've been training."

* * *

Of course Lea doesn't straight up charge. He had two- _three_ people who did that for him with gusto or some well-masked variation thereof. He moves his arm back, twirls the blade once-

_Ouch._ It definitely isn't one of his trusty fire wheels. Well, he spins it once, and tries to figure out how the rest of the motions go. He saw it at least…

When a control room was up in flames because of him, and a blond boy had summoned up two of these blasted things and danced with them. Thrown them with the conviction that they would hit true and return to his hand; hit and stay there rending against leather and ribs until he picked it up again from Axel's side.

Lea lets it loose, flinging his arm forwards with the focus of fire surging up his arm and into the blade. End spinning over end, a circle of flames carved through the air-

It should've been just radiance and just a bit of wind- that how the blond boys do it, sometimes even lashing out with a quirky phrase or a wordless shout.

* * *

Kairi feints- it's one of the first things that Riku and Sora taught her when they were little. Or more like one of the first things she learned. And good action it was, since a flying blade occupied the space where she'd been a second ago, even if her attack missed for quite a lot. At least one swipe did, the second one came close enough to make the fabric whip a little. A high jump- she's cheated physics with a spell and a spin-

She dives down on Riku. It isn't exactly how any of the boys do this. They land in blade-first, can even bounce off their target once they've hit. Riku's a master at this, and maybe she shouldn't have tried this at all, swan-diving off a leap and after a flaming keyblade that is beginning to soar back to Lea's outstretched hand.

But she's done it, curved a swing at a point slightly under Riku's shoulder.

* * *

Lea's attack was easy to dodge- Riku just leant to the side, watched the fire sizzle in front of his eyes and the burnished cast on the leather. Kairi was much the same matter, her arm arcing about a hand-span away from him, a couple fingers away just after that, and leaving her to slam into him shoulder-first.

But it does mean he sidesteps her instead of simply leaning away, and time to swap out some tactics. Or in- the first anythings wouldn't have hit him anyways, he's sure. Riku's brought out his own blade to bear and taken an aimed swing at her while she's just landed.

Well, Kairi learnt to land in a roll, passing under the initial swing with ease. Has to leap away, too clumsily still, to dodge the second one and parry the third. Her blade slips away too easy, and Riku doesn't exactly see the kick she landed, but it isn't really powerful. It was more of a balance act, Kairi buying time to regain her footing-

And for Lea to slide in, his blade ringing against Riku's once-twice-thrice-_four_-

A spell, behind him from where he'd left off with Kairi- dodge and it careens off Lea's hilt, curses. A Blizzara neatly cast, froze some of the grip on the fiery blade-

She begins to apologize, but it has cost her. Riku swings backhand, she leaps back- _again, go in the offense Kairi!-_ that's Lea. She feints left, but the move is stale and Riku can anticipate it-

Kairi fires off some sort of light spell instead of lunging. Riku blocks that- Lea takes the moment, swiping in, and the blow stings but he's taken much worse. Another strike, this one blocked properly and he's nicked Lea back, once at his elbow because he didn't guard and a shallow one across his chest. Kairi rushes in, ringed by diamond-shards of ice and she clips him with the edge of her charge. But he's spun off, following the strength from the magic and lashes out once against her, slashing a small ribbon of red from her leg.

A spin from her, fast and Kairi's hand flies towards her wounded limb. _Ow_, she winces under her breath, and Lea's fired off a large ball of flame to mask that. The motion finishes oddly, tip of the keyblade sunk into the ground still spitting sparks-

Riku jumps- and he doesn't use magic like Kairi still does to increase the height. He's readied the block, and while the first Fira slammed into him and sent him back some, it's better than the pillar of flame erupting underneath his previous position. It also affords him some cover. Riku leaps again, dives properly at Lea and there, blade sunk into shoulder. A kick off, to get back in the air and Riku doesn't show off too much before he goes in for another-

A bright shield surrounds Lea, and Kairi has lifted her blade in front of her face. She mutters something that doesn't make any sense, but it works, bouncing Riku harmlessly off Lea-

He swaps target, aiming at her. She's nowhere near protected as she is, even when she breaks the spell lightning-fast. He lands again, blade first at the top of her arm and he can see blood because Kairi doesn't wear anything with sleeves, even now.

* * *

He calls it quits. Not permanently, but for the moment. A call for healing spells, and for tips- they have better synergy than what first sight provides. Or the good-natured bickering leads to believe: why'd you fire off ice-spells; learn to dodge or block, yours can do that- _yours too, princess_- oh, really?

Riku lets them cool off for a while- no turning off some irony if they haven't exactly won, although they've improved. Kairi's a good magician, or shaping up to be a great one at the moment; Lea, if you ever manage to land those fast hits, you'll be fine. Better than fine- he'll break time travel, or something.

"Or you'll end up, say, a thousand years back and I call your stuff."

"You just wish."

"I've called some things already Riku- once I walk off with mine, you can claim the rest."

"Hmph. You will have to stop me then-"

Kairi slams a quick Blizzard into the ground, pinning the hem of the cloak to the floor and racing off in some random direction.

As for Riku… well, he's formally picked up some of the Mark of Mastery skills. Such as the neat teleport-roll, and something to free him from simple spells. And he's always beat Sora and Kairi at races.

* * *

Lea knows how to misdirect better than those ever will. And he's still a rookie in the art- Isa was the freaking master even before all of this- he managed to change the patrol routes of guards once.

And it's easy anyways, to send them out of the magic-space created by the three fairies, into the train to Twilight Town and then to randomly chase them up and down into the clock-tower.

Roxas and… the other one never took so long. They even beat him there a couple of times- sure, using portals, but who didn't. Anyways, when they got there manually, he always won.

Wait, not this time. _Again._

The old voices pick up in conversation, the blue-haired boy telling them how Lea never ever expected anything to beat him and how that ended up screwing him over quite funnily a couple of times. Some laughter, and Lea's arguing in mute how Isa always got into that trouble as well because, most of the time, he'd be there right with the overconfidence and the sarcasm and Roxas, _stop laughing_, our fights don't count for this either.

And you…

He looks at the last figure, a black-haired girl (or so she looks like) with an awful case of Sora-hair and giggling at the others' antics.

_You, I still have to remember. But I'll get back at you for the laughing once I do, got it memorized?_

"Okay, Axel."

… _great,_ not even _them_ can realize he's Lea now. Although two out of three probably don't know what that is, and Isa wasn't the best person to leave unknowing people with.

* * *

Sora's sitting at the clock-tower like he's meant to be there, setting sun dyeing his hair a burning gold. He grins before he even sees the trio gamboling on the wide plaza below, hollers preceding them and rushing up in crescendo as they make their staggered ascent.

Something about who has claimed Lea's stuff once he gets sent a thousand years back into the past of wherever and whether the lifetime supply ticket for sea-salt ice cream actually exists or is wishful thinking, same as Disney Town.

The last one is absolutely real- Donald, Goofy and he took a minor training detour there. Claimed it was to improve secondary skills, like timing (firing off ice-cream at the dancing nephews and Donald 'accidentally' nailing them a couple of times with some scoops); or accuracy (the fruitball match had been well-fought, Donald and Goofy against him and Daisy, also in passing and out for 'revenge'); and coordination.

Okay, the last had been an excuse to test out if the keyblade really had that morph both of them had told Sora about- hadn't quite nailed it, although renting the go-karts had been awesome. He'll have to race Riku on those later- and won't he be taken by surprise, because the first time on those is a complete crash fest. And Kairi will be… hmm, she could be on one, or she could do what she always does for the races and keep the score. Or the times, and stand with the huge checked flag at the finish line and give Sora the huge cup. Or hey, he saw helmets, and the karts are sort of big on him- Goofy fit in, after all- and she could fit in behind him… he's heard girls are crazier drives. Believes it, because he did see a couple of them take turns on the karts and they weren't exactly model drivers- he wasn't either, but he's_ accustomed_ to crazy crashes.

The hollering comes closer- and Sora's about to quip that, yes, Disney Town is about as real as Santa or time-travelling, when Lea bursts in through a gate left unlocked. Takes the turn too sharp, and curses a bit because you never gave me a break when I got here late. Then there's Riku and Kairi, laughing and screaming. Riku says hey- same as always, because the heart-to-heart after the Mark of Mastery was… well, it was there, but best friends don't need permanent undying declarations of friendship. Lea rolls his eyes at this, leaning against the clock-tower and he does belong there, eyes trained on the sunset. He's missing something though, and Sora hasn't finished figuring it out yet- not completely, because that's something Roxas tells when he wants.

Kairi catches up to him, a smile and another short greeting. Shuffles down to sit on the ledge at his side before, as she puts it, the other two come down from the clouds and steal her place. She looks a bit wounded- literally, from battle- and he's worrying, because…

Better than the alternative. And anyways, she's close now, and maybe he can begin to properly relate his adventures and tease her for missing out on say, _flight_. Or the flowmotion, or the…

* * *

Riku muses this isn't quite right. It should've been them three, on the bent paopu palm, hands linked. They would've still been looking out over the horizon, and just happy with each other and the simple fact of them and no darkness (for now), or even them and a pleasantly sunny day drawing to an end.

And Sora pouting because Riku had totally owned him in the sparring matches today, or how he'd been unsubtly ogling the beach volleyball matches too. Or a prank pulled on Wakka regarding hair gel, or them arguing over Kairi and her mysteriously vanishing art supplies, or the scratches in pen left when they'd fallen asleep.

* * *

Lea muses that they don't have this quite right- because it should've been three (plus one, now that… well, once he comes around again). Legs swinging against sun baked bricks with full confidence, because they'd reach out for each other. And failing that, they all had portals. There should've been ice-cream bars not managing to melt, speeches that some way or other didn't get the whole point across, pointless laughter. Some slander- because Demyx never did an honest day's work in his life or un-life, Luxord had to seriously stop winning bets for trips to Wonderland and-

Oh, they would've talked Saïx up and six feet under too, or cheered up… the other one… and generally goofed around without knowing. They should've been passing for happy just because it was the three of them another day in the clock-tower (they used to check over their shoulders in case C.O. happened again, would you imagine), they should've teased and raced who could've eaten their bar the fastest. Or which ray of light came closest to them.

The red one, a boy with light-blue hair and teasing eyes says, and you wouldn't get the logic stuff behind it even if I told you Lea.

_Good for you Isa, and anyways not like you know either. Skived off class with me, right?_

He gets some sort of laughter in return, and it might've even been in sync with that of the three younger teens at his side, linked around each other and almost mobbing him with…

* * *

_Eh, this is really fun._

They all figure it doesn't matter much now, when they're all as friends, borrowing one of their usual routines for this. Or when Lea gets a good ruffle on Riku's hair and a cuff to the shoulder from Sora too well timed to be mere coincidence. Laughter chiming- a girl's, another playful shove back and forth along like a little chain of four.

It's all good, after all.

Better than that even.


End file.
